Blood is Thicker Than Water
by titaniumandtorn
Summary: "Ponyboy, do you need to be excused?" Mr. Alexander asked me. I nodded and hurried to the bathroom. I went to the sink to continue cleaning the blood from my nose. That's when I started gagging. Blood was coming from my gums and throat as well. I coughed for a while until I was sure I was dying. Then it stopped. I headed to the nurse quickly before it could start again.
1. Chapter 1

I rolled over to feel the other side of the bed was warm, but empty. Soda had just gotten up. I smiled and contiuned to sit up and climb out of bed. I walked down the hallway and to the bathroom in just my underwear.

"Don't use all the hot water!" I yelled to Soda.

"Okay Ponyboy!" He yelled. I headed to the kitchen to see if Darry was up too. He was and had already started making eggs. I looked around for him but he wasn't in the kitchen. I scurried into the kitchen quickly before I grabbed the food coloring and dropped some red into the eggs. Red eggs are great as Sodapop has taught me. I then hurried out of the kitchen and hid behind the door to see Darry's reation.

"Sodapop Patrick Curtis!" He yelled. I laughed and gave myself away. He walked over to the door and looked at me with mock sterness.

"You must be punished for this. You are acting just like your brother. Maybe you should finish the eggs," He said looking me in the eye.

"Really Darry?" I said pretending to be upset. I love making eggs but I didn't tell Darry that. If I did, he'd have to find a new way to punish me.

"Yup," He said buttoning up his shirt the rest of the way.

"Pony, the showers ready," Soda said.

"Good get the egg ruiner out of here," Darry said smiling.

"They aren't ruined," I yelled from the bathroom. I hopped in the shower quickly and hurried out to the bedroom Soda and I share to get dressed.

When I got downstairs, sure enough, we had red eggs on the table.

"Nice job, Pony. You learn fast," Soda said laughing.

"Don't encourage him," Darry said making Soda giggle. "Pony eat."

"I'm not hungry," I said honestly.

"Everyone in the truck!" Darry yelled. By that time, Steve and Two-bit had also appeared in the living room. Two-bit was coming to school with me and Steve was going to work with Soda so we all kinda rode together. Soda and Steve hopped in the back of the truck and Two-bit and I rode up front with Darry.

First, we went to the school. Two-bit and I went our separate ways to class.

My first class was English which wasn't a problem for me. I loved English. We were reading To Kill a Mockingbird, which was easily one of my favorite books, but that day, I was extremely tired. My legs were shaking like crazy and I could barely stand.

When I finally made it to class, I sat down quickly feeling a wave of pain rush through my leg. I put my head on my desk before the bell rang.

"Okay class let's start chapter 6," Mr. Alexander said. I reached in my desk and pulled out my book and open to the page. I looked down at he page before a drop of blood appeared on the page. My hand automatically went to my nose. When I took may hand away, there was blood on it. I went to grab a tissue to stop the blood.

"Ponyboy, do you need to be excused?" Mr. Alexander asked me. I nodded and hurried to the bathroom. I went to the sink to continue cleaning the blood from my nose. That's when I started gagging. Blood was coming from my gums and throat as well. I coughed for a while until I was sure I was dying. Then it stopped. I headed to the nurse quickly before it could start again.

The nurse pulled up my shirt and looked at my back. After a minute, she decided to call Darry.

"Where did you get those bruises?" She asked. I was confused. They didn't even hurt.

"What bruises?" I asked.

"That's what I thought. 15 year old boys shouldn't have that many bruises," She said. "Do you like living with your brother?"

"Yeah," I said caught off gaurd.

"Great. He's on his way," She said. I nodded.

"Have you been tired or had any pain?" She asked.

"Yeah I've been tired all morning and I've had pain in my leg," I said just as Darry walked in.

"Here take this. I think it might help," The nurse said handing Darry a card.

"Oncology? That's cancer," Darry said surprised. I gasped slightly. You always see on TV that someone has cancer. They always end up dead.


	2. Chapter 2

We stopped by the DX to pick up Soda after his shift. He was prepared to walk home so when he saw Darry's truck outside he was really confused.

"Pony, why aren't you in school?" Soda asked when he got in the truck.

"He's goin' to the oncologist," Darry said.

"Oncology?" Soda asked. "Why?"

"He's just gotta take some tests," Darry said.

"Is it bad Darry?" I spoke up for the first time since Darry arrived at school. I was worn out.

"We'll just have to see Pone," He said.

When we got to the doctor, we had to sit in the waiting room for what seemed like forever, but it was only an hour. An hour of sitting with kids who I could soon look like. Most of them were going through chemotherapy or radiation. The girl sitting beside me had to get a bucket. That's when I decided it was an appropriate time to take a walk.

After I got back, I was called back with Darry and Soda.

"I'm Dr. Westley. We are gonna take a blood test. That's basically a complete blood count to check the number of white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets. The nurse that called us said she suspected whats called lukemia. This is one test to determine if that's even a possibility. Leukemia causes a very high level of white blood cells. It may also cause low levels of platelets. If the results seem to be pointing towards Lukemia, we only have one test that we can take to see if he does in fact have lukemia. A biopsy is the only sure way to know whether leukemia cells are in your bone marrow. I will remove tissue to look for cancer cells. Before the sample is taken, local anesthesia is used to numb the area. This helps reduce the pain. I remove some bone marrow from your hipbone or another large bone. A pathologist uses a microscope to check the tissue for leukemia cells. In a Bone marrow aspiration I use a thick, hollow needle to remove samples of bone marrow. With any luck we can get all this done today," He said. Soda looked like he was gonna be sick.

"This isn't even gonna cure him, This is just so you can get a diagnosis?" Darry asked.

"Yes. First I'm gonna ask Pony and Darry some questions. Sodapop you may go back to the waiting room for privacy reasons," The doc said. Soda stood up to leave and Darry and I walked beck to another office.

"How's his eating?" He asked.

"Very little lately," Darry said.

"The nurse told me everything that happened at school. Does this hurt?" He asked rubbing my neck.

"No," I said.

"His lymph nodes are swollen," He said pressing a thermometer to the side of my forehead.

"What about sleep?" He asked.

"Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night but besides that I sleep fine," I said.

"He's got a fever. 101.2," He said. Darry nodded.

"Come on Pony let's go back to the lab. Darry you can go to the waiting room," He said.

We went back for the tests. He drew blood and after about a half an hour, he looked at the results with me. My white blood cells were very high but that doesn't always mean lukemia. Darry rejoined us to talk to the doctor. They went to the room next door so that I wouldn't hear them, but I did.

"His white cells are to high," The doc said.

"Is he gonna die," Darry asked.

"We don't know," He said.

"Don't let my kid brother die," Darry said.

When they finished talking, they told me he had to do a bone marrow aspiration. Great, more blood. First, they numbed the area to reduce pain. Then, the stuck the needle into my hip bone. I was surprised to se there wasn't anymore blood. Then they took the sample to be looked at in the lab, so I got to sit in the waiting room for another half hour.


	3. Chapter 3

After asking my permission, Darry filled Soda in on what happened. It was almost eight o'clock and I was tired. I tilted my head back against the wall and closed my eyes.

"Hi," I heard someone say. I opened my eyes to see a girl about my age sitting beside me. I lifted my hand to wave at her and she smiled. She was wearing a purple t-shirt and jeans. She had to be going through chemo because she didn't have hair. Her eyes were a sofft blue that almost looked grey.

"I'm Mia, what's your name?" She asked.

"Ponyboy," I said.

"Well Ponyboy, why are you here?' She asked.

"Blood tests, what about you?" I asked.

"Chemo, for osteosarcoma," She said.

"Well how old are you, Mia?" I asked.

"15," She said. She was with someone I assumed was her mother.

"Me too," I said.

"Mia Eric," A nurse calls.

"Maybe I'll see you around?" I asked.

"Yeah," She said. The funny thing was, I never saw her again.

Darry and Soda thought it was great that I was making friends. That's not how I saw it. I talked to someone for a couple minutes and all of a sudden, I'm making friends.

"Ponyboy Curtis," A nurse called. Darry and I started back towards her.

"You can bring your brother with you," The doctor said. I waved my hand for Soda to join us. He saw me and stood up and hurried to join us.

"Dr. Westley has a diagnoses," She said. "Head to room 2." We followed the signs to room 2 and saw Dr. Westley holding a bunch of papers. I could feel myself growing weak and scared.

"Pony," He said turning around to look at me. "The results are not good. It seems you have acute lukemia cells in your bones. We would like to try some different treatments. One option is chemotherapy. We an do this a couple different ways. We can use needles to inject it into a vein or we could do it by mouth through a pill if you want to do it at home. Or we can do radiation but the results aren't as good," He said. I turned to lay my head on Soda's shouder. He seemed to be in a distant world. I could feel a tear slip from my eye on to Soda's shoulder. That seemed to wake him and he started to rub small circles on my back.

"I think we should try the chemo, okay Pony?" Darry asked.

"Yeah," I choked out.

"We'll try the Chemo pill but are there any side effects?" Darry asked.

"Chemotherapy may decrease healthy blood cells, you're more likely to get infections, bruise or bleed easily, and feel very weak and tired. You'll get blood tests to check for low levels of blood cells. If your levels are low, we may stop the chemotherapy for a while or reduce the dose of drug. There also are medicines that can help your body make new blood cells. Or, you may need a blood transfusion. Chemotherapy may cause hair loss. If you lose your hair, it will grow back, but it may be somewhat different in color and texture. Chemotherapy can cause poor appetite, nause and vomitting, diarrhea, or mouth and lip sores. We can find medicines and other ways to help you cope with these problems. Some types of chemotherapy can cause infertality. Most children treated for leukemia appear to have normal fertility when they grow up. However, depending on the drugs and doses used and the age of the patient, some boys and girls may be infertile as adults. I will give you a list of all of this when we give you the drugs. We would like to start treatment right away I'm going to the pharmacy downstairs to fill your prescription. If you have any questions just ask," He said disapearing into the hall.

"I'm gonna die," I whisper into Soda's shoulder.

"Shh Baby you're gonna be fine," Soda said putting his head on mine.


	4. Chapter 4

The Chemotherapy pills were the worst things I'd ever expirenced. I thought they wouldn't be that bad, considering they might save my life but I hate them.

"Pony! Come get your pills!" Darry yelled from the kitchen. I rolled over in bed and almost fell out of the bed.

"I'm coming Darry!" I yelled. I stumbled in the hallway trying hard to keep my balance. 'I hate this,' I thought.

"My head is killing me I just want to go back to sleep," I said. Darry looked at me handing me my pill.

"Fine but you have to take your pill," He said. I groaned taking the pill from his hand and getting some water. I swallowed the pill and stumbled to the couch. I started to shake from weakness before falling on the couch. I turned my head and noticed Soda watching me from the hallway. When he noticed me watching, he turned away pretending to look at a picture. That's when I first noticed how torn up he felt watching me die. I'm only being honest. I was dying. The look on his face broke my heart so much, I had to get away from it somehow. I then forced myself to sleep.

I woke up to my head spinning. I was so nauseous. I rolled over and vomited. Darry rushed in quickly. He was always there when I needed him. Soda wasn't far behind. Darry was trying to help me sit up but I knew I was done. I only threw up once each time. Then it was over. When I went to lay back down, I noticed in between the cousins, stands of brown and blonde hair. My hair. I reached to my head to feel my hair. It was still mostly there aside from one spot. Soda noticed my hand right away.

"Your head hurtin' Pony?" He asked

"Oh my god," Was all I can manage to say. Soda reached over and picked up some of the hair.

"Oh Pony," He said before hugging me. I started to sob. I ould only think about losing all of my hair. I would look like the other paitents at the hospital. I really was sick and I could do nothing about it.

"Pony you gotta go to school," Darry said.

"Unless you don't want to," Soda added.

"No, I wanna go see Johnny," I said. Looking back now, I'm pretty sure I had chemo brain. That's when a cancer paitient gets forgetful during chemotherapy.

Soda left the room and Darry looked like he was trying hard not to cry.

"Johnny won't be at school," Darry said.

"Why not?" I asked.

"He's dead, Ponyboy," Darry said.

"If he was dead, why didn't you just tell me! You don't have to treat me like a kid with your whole 'he won't be at school crap!' I'm dying not a 3 year old! Anything else you wanna tell me?" I asked. I don't remember why I was so mad. Probably another side effect, but I do remember Soda having to leave the house suddenly.

I stood up quickly with one thing on my mind. Get out of the house. I was stopped shortly after by a shortage of breath, which ended in unconciousness.


	5. Chapter 5

Another trip to the hospital. That time we were just going in to check how I was dealing with chemotherapy. I had lost all my hair and I was always tired. I had to sit in he waiting room for a while but I did get in after a while.

"Well Ponyboy, your body seems to be taking very well to the chemo. The sicker you get, the more likely you will recover quickly. Something that has happened during your chemotherapy is it destroys lukemia cells and normal blood cells. We need to give you more blood cells so that you can carry on as normal. What we would like to try is a sem cell transplant. I'm going o be honest with you all, there is not enough healthy blood cells in Ponyboy's body to use his blood.After you receive high-dose chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or both, you receive healthy stem cells through a large vein. It's like getting a blood transfusion. New blood cells develop from the transplanted stem cells. The new blood cells replace the ones that were destroyed by treatment. Stem cell transplants take place in the hospital. Stem cells may come from you or from someone who donates their stem cells to you. An allogeneic stem cell transplant uses healthy stem cells from a donor. One of your brothers may be the donor. Sometimes the stem cells come from a donor who isn't related. Doctors use blood tests to learn how closely a donor's cells match your cells. Then we can preform the stem cell transplant. Stem cells come from a few sources. The stem cells usually come from the blood. This is called a peripheral stem cell transplant. Or they can come from the bone marrow, a bone marrow transplant. Another source of stem cells is umbilical cord blood. Cord blood is taken from a newborn baby and stored in a freezer. When a person gets cord blood, it's called an umbilical cord blood transplant. After a stem cell transplant, you may stay in the hospital for several weeks or months. You'll be at risk for infections and bleeding because of the large doses of chemotherapy you received. In time, the transplanted stem cells will begin to produce healthy blood cells. Another problem is that graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) may occur in people who receive donated stem cells. In GVHD, the donated white blood cells in the stem cell graft react against the patient's normal tissues. Most often, the liver, skin, or digestive tract is affected. GVHD can be mild or very severe. It can occur any time after the transplant, even years later. Steroids or other drugs may help. We strongly suggest that if at all possible one of your brothers is your donor so that this chance decreases," Dr. Westley said. Soda couldn't stop staring at the floor. Darry was catching every word as well.

"Next time you visit, which is Friday, we will try to find you a donor," He smiled. I hate when they all it a vistit. We aren't there as friends to sit down and drink tea, he's basically giving me a death sentance.

", There is not enough healthy blood cells in Ponyboy's body to use his blood," The words kept repeating in my brain. I'm going to die. I stood up and ran out of the room snd out of the hospital. I sat on the side walk crying. I know everyone was staring at the boy with cancer crying. Darry and Soda and Dr. Westley came out shortly after me.

"Pony," Soda sat down beside me.

"No Soda," I said turning away. I didn't want to be close to them, because it was hard enough already leaving them.

"I'm never gonna get married I..." I started to cry again. Darry looked from me to Dr. Westely.

"He's just soggy from the chemo," He said. It was true, I wasn't known for crying.

"I only have a few more months at the most. I'm never gonna see another summer," I cried. Darry went inside to finish up but Soda stayed outside with me.

On the way home I was worn out. I started to drift to sleep when I heard my name. I pretended to sleep but stayed awake for it.

"He'll never know the way it tears me up inside to see him. I wish I could take it away. I wish I could save him. There's so many things I want him to know. I won't give up until it's over but I hope that's a long time from now," Soda was crying like a baby. Then I fell asleep, half cause I was tired, and half so I didn't have to hear him like that again.


	6. Chapter 6

Friday came quickly. After that day in the car, I never heard Soda cry again.

"Ponyboy, you need to get up!" Darry came in quickly. I opened my eyes and noticed Darry standing staring at me. I was extremley tried and sore. Darry left the room quickly. I tried to tell him I'd be out in a minute but I was way too tired. He hurried back in with a wet towel and wiped my nose. I noticed it was bleeding again.

"I'm dying. I can tell," I whispered. I wasn't scared. I wanted to close my eyes and sleep but I knew I'd never wake up.

"Where's Soda?" I asked. Then that quickly I shut my eyes. After about a minute, I reopened them. I was strong enough to get out of bed. Darry helped me but I didn't need him to.

We all met at the hospital. Soda had to get a ride from Steve because of having to work. Steve came in and said hi to me and Darry before leaving.

Dr. Westley called Soda back first to see if he was a match. Darry tried engaging me in a conversation but all I could think about is him attending my funeral.

"When I die, I wanna be buried in jeans and a white tee shirt. I would love to have grease in my hair but..." I started but Darry interrupted me.

"You willl because you are gonna live a long time," Darry said so I dropped it. At least he knew now. Anyone who met me knew I was dying. Even Steve knew it.

"Pony," Dr. Westely calls and I head back there, passing Soda on the way.

"Soda was about as close as you can get. I am very glad we can do this today. Just hold on," He said going to grab the needle.

"So Pony, how was this morning?" He asked as he stuck the needle in my hip. It didn't hurt much, either because I was numb or because I wasn't thinking.

"I couldn't get up I was so tired," I laughed.

"Well that's done, we can take you to your room," He said walking back into the waiting room.

"Darry, Sodapop," Dr. Westley said.

"It's a pretty far walk, can you do it Pony?" He asked. I nodded. I couldn't do a lot of things since I got this disease but one of the few things I haven't had a problem with was walking. Although I hadn't walked this far yet.

When we got to the room, Dr. Westley talked to Darry while Soda put my stuff away.

"When you get out of here and you're all better, We can play football with the whole gang. We can even get Darry on our team," Soda smiled. I smiled too beacuse in that moment I saw my cancer more like a cold instead of a deadly disease.

"We gotta go later but I want you to know we will always be here for you. Even If you can't see us," he said. I started to tear up but didn't say anyting, I didn't want the chemo to do the talking. I remember watching the sunset from the hospital window. I could barely see it through the blinds and it made me realize how lucky I was to be at home when I was.


	7. Chapter 7

The first week of heavy chemo was the worst week of my life. Everyone was fake smiling and pulling themselves together. Soda is in twice a day with a smile but he has lost the light behind his eyes. He came in after work on Thursday.

"Hey Pony, they treating you alright?" He asked. I couldn't answer. I couldn't breathe. My chest felt like it was on fire, I sat up straight and grabbed the area where my heart would've been. I was gasping for air. Soda stood up quickly and ran into the hallway yelling for help. A nurse came in and rolled my bed out of the room. They said they were going in for emergency surgery. Soda watched them roll me away with the most pained look on his face. I closed my eyes so I didn't have to see it.

I woke up back in my room. Darry and Soda and even Steve were surrounding me. They were all talking to themselves. Steve was hugging Soda who was bawling like a baby.

"Three weeks!" he cried, "This isn't happening!" I opened my eyes curious to see what Soda meant. Steve pulled Soda into the hallway and Darry held my hand.

"Pony, the doctors just told us what was going on, the lukemia cells weren't all dead and they've made their way into your heart. You got about three weeks, Ponyboy," Darry said.

"I'm gonna die?" I asked choking on tears.

"Unless you get a heart transplant they can do nothing for you. If you do get a transplant, You'd be cancer free. It's all in your heart now," Darry said.

"I'm never gonna go to college, or get a job, or graduate high school, or get married, or have kids, or," I started crying uncontrollablely.

I didn't even notice Steve and Soda come back in to the room. When I calmed down enough I noticed Soda at the doorway.

"Three weeks, Soda," I said. Soda looked at me and smiled halfheartedly.

"You'll get more time I promise," He said. Darry said he and Soda were going for a walk and left.

"You can't promise him that!" Darry said.

"He will get more time, people get heart transplants all the time," Soda said.

"It's unlikely Soda," Darry said. Then they walked back into the room.

"Twenty-one more sunsets," I said. Soda looked at me as if I'd just killed a puppy.

"Don't be talking like that, you will get more than that," he said.

"It's unlikely I will get a donor Soda," I said. I was too tired to argue anymore.

After they left, Two-bit stopped in. He brought me a notebook he had stolen from the gift shop and a pack of pens.

"What's this for?" I asked.

"Your cancer story. Maybe I can get it published, you've fought so hard. If your too sick I can finish it. I just think you could inspire other kids and you're a great writer," Two-bit said in the most serious voie I'd ever heard him use.

"Okay," I said.

"My sister said 'hello'," Two-bit said before leaving. That was the last time Two-bit visited the hospital.


	8. Chapter 8

I woke up the next day sicker than ever. I was throwing up and I was very weak. I didn't want to open my eyes. My breath was short and I wanted to sleep again. I rolled my head to the side and saw Soda sitting beside me. He smiled.

"You're awake," Soda said. I rolled my head and woke myself up again.

"Are you feeling okay? You are so skinny," He said.

"I... I'm fi...ne," I whispered before starting to cough loudly.

"Pony," Soda reached for my hand. I stopped coughing and laid back down. Soda handed me the bucket again and I threw up. He got up and took it out again for me.

"His voice is just barely a whisper he's just skin and bones the cancer has nothing else to take," I heard Soda say to someone in the hallway. A second later, Darry appeared in the doorway.

"Hey how are you feeling?" He asked sitting down.

"Why can't I just die now?" I mumbled.

"Because they are gonna get you a donor. I know they will," Darry said.

"Come on, Darry. You know as well as I do that's not gonna happen," I whispered. Soda returned to the room and sat on the foot of my bed. He was quiet at first but I noticed his eyes light up. I didn't ask why. I hoped it was something good. I wish I would've asked him.

"Hey, Pony I gotta go. I'm gonna get some coffee. I'll be back in a minute. Don't worry Darry, Steve is gonna drive," He said standing up. Darry nodded and Soda left in a hurry.

A nurse stopped in to give me my pill. I shook my head.

"What do you mean no? You are gonna take the damn pill," Darry said.

"I'm gonna die, Darry. There's no sence in taking it," I whispered in a raspy voice.

"If your brother says you have to take the pill, you have to take the pill," The nurse said. I grabbed the pill and took it dry.

We sat in silence for a while until a nurse ran into the room.

"Darry! We have a donor!" The nurse said quickly then motioned for him to come outside. I didn't hear what she said but when Darry returned I could tell he had silent tears running down his face. They took my bed and hurried into the operation.

When I woke up Steve was beside my bed. Darry was in nowhere to be seen. Neither was Sodapop.

"Where's Darry and Soda?" I asked Steve.

"I'll get Darry," He said leaving the room. I noticed a wide scratch on Steve's face. Darry appeared moments later. He was crying extremely hard. At that moment the only thing I could think was, 'It didn't work,'

"Hey little buddy, you are cancer free," he said. I smiled.

"Why were you crying?" I asked him.

"Your donor, was your brother," he said.


	9. Chapter 9

In the days that followed, I went into remission. I was cancer free. The doctors said I was well enough to go to the funeral. No one wanted to tell me how Soda died. I know he did though but he still lives, He lives in my blood. The blood that should be his. The blood from his heart that keeps me alive. The blood that reminds me that I had a brother who would literally die for me, purposefully or not.

"Do you wanna go?" Darry asked me. I still couldn't walk because my body was still getting used to Soda's heart. Too much movement wore me out.

"Yeah. Would I have to use the wheelchair?" I asked. It was bad enough to go to the funeral with no hair but having to go in a wheelchair is basically saying 'Hey everyone I'm the reason Soda died and I stole his heart.'

"Yes and don't try to argue with me," Darry said. He was always tired nowadays and never smiled. He was as broken as I'd ever seen him. Even today he still hasn't fully recovered.

The funeral was terrible. There was not a dry eye in the place. Steve didn't even show up. I stayed in the back with my wheelchair. Everyone was commenting on how strong I was. I didn't feel to strong. I felt as weak as I ever was. Weaker than when I left class with a bloody nose. Weaker than when I found out I had lukemia. Weaker than when I started Chemotherapy. Weaker Than when I found out I had three weaks to live. Weaker than when I woke up every morning getting sick. Even weaker than when I found out my brother was my heart donor. I felt weaker because it was really sinking in now. Soda was dead and I was gonna live. Even if I didn't want to.

When we got up to leave Steve waas waiting by our car. That's how long the line was to get in. Everyone loved Sodapop.

"I wanted to tell you both what happened," He said to me and Darry, "Soda said we needed to go get coffee so we went downstairs and got in the car to go get some. I noticed he was quieter than usual and not buckled. I blew it off because he didn't buckle anyways. We started driving and before we got too far from the hospital, he grabbed the wheel and ran us straight into a pole. He died on impact. He left a letter asking me to tell the nurse to give Pony his heart. He wanted to save you, Pony. He really loved you."

All the fight had left Steve. The usual hate he had for me was gone. I was no longer a tag-a-long because there was nothing to follow. The thing that connected Steve to the gang was gone. After that, I never saw Steve again. I only heard about him. Even the gang fell apart. Two-bit dropped by every once and a while but other than that, it was just me and Darry. Sometimes, the house would get so quiet that I could swear I heard Mom and Dad and even Sodapop. But that had to be my imagination. I would never be that lucky.


End file.
